Articles: disease.
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About a century after Koch's discovery of the TB bacilli the tuberculosis epidemic which had appeared to be under control was again recognized as a major global health threat. The decline in the epidemic in this century had been largely through the improved living standards and, eventually, the availability and use of effective antibiotics. While tuberculosis gradually disappeared from the health agenda in the western world it remained a big killer throughout the century and in 1992 an estimated 2.7 million TB deaths occurred; 30 million will die from TB during the 1990s if current trends are not reversed. ⋯ The control of the epidemic can only be through a concerted action to reinstate TB as priority among health concerns, reflected in national and international resources. A coalition of public and private supporters must be mobilized to support the effort to fight the disease. Governments, non-governmental organizations, the business community, refugee organizations, medical institutions, and other UN agencies are invited to join with WHO in this effort.
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A sample of African-American and white young adults were classified as having multiple sex partners or one sexual partner. Subjects with multiple sexual partners were more likely to use drugs and practice risky sexual behaviors such as having anal intercourse, having sexual experiences with a prostitute, and having a history of gonorrhea (P < .001) and genital warts (P < .01). Additional analyses were conducted to determine African-American versus white differences in risky sexual behaviors. ⋯ Finally, the results from discriminant analysis indicate that a large number of variables significantly discriminate between subjects who engage in risky sexual behaviors and those who do not. Although there is some similarity in the variables for African Americans and whites, there was tremendous variability between the ethnic groups in the factors that predict risky behaviors. These findings are discussed with reference to the need to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs for African Americans that are based on data derived from African-American populations rather than from black versus white comparison studies.
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From January 1992 to December 1993, a total of 361 births and 243 deaths were recorded by village reporters in five villages in Muheza District, north eastern Tanzania. Among those aged less than one year 48 deaths were recorded, giving an infant mortality rate of 133 per 1000 live births (95% CI 97.9-168.0). ⋯ From analysis of these, 30 of the deaths were tentatively attributed to malaria. The results are discussed in relation to other studies in East and West Africa and to the prospects for reducing mortality by use of insecticide impregnated bednets.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Oct 1994
The relation of early nutrition, infections and socio-economic factors to the development of childhood diabetes.
The relationship of development of diabetes from birth up to 15 years of age to the type of feeding in infancy, childhood infections and vaccination was studied in 55 patients attending Endocrinology Clinics of the Ethio-Swedish Children's and Tikur Anbessa Hospitals over a period of two years (January 1990 to December 1991). Seventy-four unaffected siblings and 107 unrelated controls were interviewed for comparison. No significant difference was found in relation to type of feeding up to the ages of three, six and 12 months or older between patients and unaffected siblings. ⋯ The odds ratios between diabetics and unrelated controls for introduction of bottle-feeding at three months and six months of age were 0.32 (confidence intervals 0.14-0.74) and 0.31 (confidence intervals 0.13-0.77) respectively. The use of cow's milk and other formulas in bottle-feeding showed a significant negative association with the development of diabetes chi 2 = 5.8 (p < 0.025), chi 2 = 3.8 (p < 0.05) respectively. A history of vaccination against tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT) and polio was significantly more common among unrelated controls than diabetics, chi 2 from 4.6 to 11.4 (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)